Senegal: Old Faces

SENEGAL

Old Faces

Senegal’s prime minister said Monday that incumbent President Macky Sall won enough votes in Sunday’s election to avoid a runoff, though the election commission has yet to release the official tally.

“Our gathered results show that our candidate has largely won the election in the 13 out of 14 regions in the country. We can expect a minimum of 57 percent,” said Prime Minister Mahammed Dionne,according to Al Jazeera.

Shortly thereafter, however, the election commission called on the participants to “abstain from prematurely declaring the results, and maintain the calm atmosphere since the election was conducted.” Several opposition candidates insisted that nobody won enough votes to prevent a runoff.

“There is no question, a second round is unavoidable even if some media try to announce a victory in the first round,” said Idrissa Seck, one of the main candidates.

Similarly, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has claimed an early lead his country’s election, but is facing allegations of manipulation, the BBC reported.

The final results of both elections are expected later this week.